Launch of the African Astronomical Society

The African Astronomical Society (AfAS) was relaunched at the Astronomy in Africa business meeting, which was held in Cape Town at the South African Astronomical Observatory on 25-26 March 2019. The meeting was attended by around 80 participants from 20 nations including astronomers, public stakeholders, and research organizations. The meeting focused on business-related issues of strategy, policy, and governance and the planning of the future of astronomy in Africa. The AfAS Executive Committee elected at the meeting was mandated by the African astronomy community to help realize the mission and vision of the Society as well as achieve its strategic objectives as set out in the AfAS constitution.

The AfAS Science business meeting was held in Ethiopia on 10-11 October 2019, it brought together African Astronomical professionals and the international astronomy community to discuss scientific issues, consult on a science strategy for AfAS and how they could be engaged in AfAS activities.

It was agreed that the inaugural Annual AfAS Conference would be held in Cape Town in March 2020, this was subsequently postponed to 2021 as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic which prevented all travel and personal contact.